Ace the History Bee Challenge 2026 – Buzz Through Time and Make History!

The question tests who led the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe. Ferdinand Magellan organized and captained the expedition for Spain that began in 1519, setting out across the Atlantic, pushing through the southern tip of South America, and crossing the Pacific toward Asia. Although Magellan did not survive the journey, his fleet continued under Juan Sebastián Elcano and completed the first known circumnavigation, returning to Spain in 1522. This makes his expedition the pioneering one in world-wide sailing. Leif Erikson reached North America long before, but not by sailing around the world. James Cook led later global voyages and charted many parts of the world, but his was not the first circumnavigation. Zheng He conducted grand treasure voyages across the Indian Ocean, but those journeys did not constitute a world circumnavigation.